The nation’s K-12 public school districts continue to struggle with deferred maintenance. Funding remains scarce, staffing is challenging and maintenance needs in many districts’ aging school buildings continue to grow. Now one big-city school district has implemented a upgrade and funding model designed to address its deferred maintenance crisis while achieving another important goal at the same time.
The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution recently to launch a Healthy Green Schools Pilot Program that aims to invest in clean energy and building electrification projects across 12 neighborhood schools by fiscal year 2026, according to The Chicagoland Journal.
Through the program, Chicago Public Schools aims to implement clean energy systems, such as rooftop solar panels, heat pumps and geothermal technology at selected schools. These projects are expected to yield long-term cost savings by leveraging available state and federal incentives, including renewable energy credits and direct pay tax credits.
The school district will reinvest energy savings directly back into school facilities through a new Healthy Green Schools Fund, supporting critical upgrades like filtered water fountains, mold and asbestos remediation, and water damage repairs, particularly in historically disinvested areas.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
